LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP)

The federal government and those receiving 

assistance from the federal government must 

take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP persons 

have meaningful access to the programs, services, 

and information those entities provide. This will 

require agencies to think of creative solutions to 

address the needs of this ever-growing population of 

individuals, for whom English is not their primary 

language. 

Who is a Limited 

English Proficient 

Person? 

Persons who do not speak 

English as their primary 

language and who have 

a limited ability to read, 

speak, write or understand 

English can be limited 

English proficient, or “LEP.” These individuals may 

be entitled to language assistance with respect to a 

particular type of service, benefit, or encounter. 

Who Must Comply and Who Can be Found in 

Violation? 

All programs and operations of entities that receive 

assistance from the federal government (i.e. 

recipients), including: 

•	 State agencies

•	 Local agencies

•	 Private and nonprofit entities Subrecipients

(entities that receive federal funding from one of 

the recipients listed above) also must comply. 

All programs and operations of the federal 

government also must comply. 

LEGAL AUTHORITY 

Recipients 

Title VI of the 1964 

Civil Rights Act 

“No person in the United States shall, on the 

ground of race, color or national origin, be 

excluded from participation in, be denied the 

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP)

benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination 

under any program or activity receiving federal 

financial assistance.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000d. 

The United States Supreme Court in Lau v. 

Nichols (1974) stated that one type of national 

origin discrimination is discrimination based 

on a person’s inability to speak, read, write, or 

understand English. 

Recipients and Federal Government 

Executive Order 13166

On August 2000, this Order “Improving Access 

to Services for Persons with Limited English 

Proficiency” was issued and directed federal 

agencies to: 

•	 Publish guidance on how their recipients can

provide access to LEP persons 

•	 Improve the language accessibility of their own

programs. 

•	 Break down language barriers by implementing

consistent standards of language assistance 

across federal agencies and amongst all 

recipients of federal financial assistance. 

The Order covers all federal and federally assisted

programs and activities. 

OBLIGATIONS 

Four-Factor Analysis 

Recipients of federal financial assistance have 

an obligation to reduce language barriers that 

can preclude meaningful access by LEP persons 

to important government services. (The federal 

Affirming LEP Access and Compliance in Federal and Federally Assisted Programs

INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON LEP and www.LEP.gov 

Mission: To build awareness of the need and methods to ensure that limited English proficient (LEP) persons have meaningful access to important federal and federally assisted programs, and to ensure implementation of language access, 

requirements under Title VI, the Title VI regulations, and Executive Order 13166 in a consistent and effective manner 

across agencies. 

Focus: 

•	 Creation and expansion of a one-stop website on LEP issues 

•	 Creation of tools to assist recipients and beneficiaries in understanding and applying recipient guidance documents 

•	 Collaboration amongst agencies in making federally conducted activities meaningfully accessible to LEP individuals 

January 2002 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Department of Justice • www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor

US. Department of JusticeCivil Rights DivisionCoordination and Review Section - NYA

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20530 • Title VI Hotline: 1-888-TITLE-06 (1-888-848-5306) (Voice / TDD)

government has the same obligations as a result 

of Executive Order 13166.) The starting point is

an individualized assessment that balances the 

following four factors: 

1. The number or proportion of LEP persons eligible 

to be served or likely to be encountered by the 

program or grantee/recipient;

2. The frequency with which LEP individuals come 

in contact with the program;

3.	The nature and importance of the program,

activity, or service provided by the program to 

people’s lives; and

4.	The resources available to the grantee/recipient

and costs 

Elements of an Effective LEP Policy

Elements which may be helpful in designing an LEP 

policy or plan: 

•	 Identifying LEP persons who need language

assistance 

•	 Identifying ways in which language assistance

will be provided 

•	 Training staff

•	 Providing notice to LEP persons

•	 Monitoring and updating LEP policy

Language Assistance Services 

•	 Oral interpretation services

•	 Bilingual staff

•	 Telephone interpreter lines

•	 Written language services

•	 Community volunteers

For more information and detailed agencyspecific guidance, go to LEP.gov

Equal Access and 

Participation for All